Name	Kristina Rihanoff
Height
Naionality	Russian
Date of Birth	22 September 1977
Place of Birth	Siberia, Russia
Famous for

Kristina's journey began in the unforgiving, arctic climate of Siberia . Her father, a musician and composer, enveloped Kristina's home in music, and Kristina fell in love with music and dance at an early age. As a child, Kristina used her ballet training to hone the skills that would one day make her a ballroom champion. She studied both Latin and Standard styles, but it was the Latin harmonies and movements that truly stirred her passion.

Kristina entered her first dance competition at the tender age of seven, and has never looked back. Her lifelong love affair with dance guided her through scores of competitions as a youngster, and she ultimately became a renowned dance champion in Russia 's Far-Eastern region.

Kristina began teaching dance lessons when she was only sixteen, an occupation that combined her fondness for children and the hobby that was quickly becoming a destined profession for the young star.

Kristina never ignored the importance of higher education, however, and by age 21, she had obtained a Master's degree in Tourism and Hospitality. It was then that she was invited to the United States to compete professionally.

In 2001, Kristina moved to Seattle , Washington , and dedicated all of her time to professional dance competition. She learned several new styles of dance in the U.S. , including salsa, American rhythm, and exhibition/theater style. She was so successful that she and her partner won second place at the American Rhythm Finals for three years in a row. They traveled around the U.S. and abroad to perform and compete around the world.

In 2004, Kristina and her partner were invited to represent the U.S. in the most prestigious competition in the professional dance world, the World Exhibition at the Blackpool Dance Festival, where the couple placed second in the theater-style category.

Kristina then returned to International-style Latin with new partner Michael Wentink, one of Latin dance's most famous ballroom masters. Kristina and Michael promptly won the South African Championship and were also semifinalists at the 2007 Blackpool competition in the Latin American division. In fact, Kristina's won quite a few awards.